Sleeping Next to James

I arrived in Albion after 11, and Dad and M were up waiting for me. I took off my bow tie and sat in the kitchen with them, catching up and having a beer and some cheese and crackers. It had been far too long since I'd actually sat in my parent's kitchen, and they both had to be up too early the next morning to stay up much later. I toured the opulent new bathroom, changed out of my tuxedo, brushed my teeth, and went over to the pull-out bed by the sofa.

James was asleep, stretched horizontally across the bed, his face planted on George and Steven under his right arm. He always looks big now, compared to Owen, and he looked especially big as he took up most of the bed. I put my glasses on the sofa arm and tried to climb under the covers quietly. It was a little past 11:30. I twisted into a sort of L-shape around him and sank into a pillow.

12:30
I hear him wake up and look around.
"Hey, it's me. You want to go back to sleep?"
"Okay."
"Should I sleep next to you tonight?"
"Okay."
He rotated slightly so that I could put an arm over him and we fell asleep again.

1:30
He is kicking me. He's facing the other way on the bed again now. J sometimes turns over in her sleep from back to front. James appears to be exploring every corner of the bed.

4:30
Now we're both facing the wrong way on the bed somehow.

5:30
I forgot to turn off the alarm on my phone. It's fallen behind the bed and I have to scramble around for it. He looks up, and I tell him to go back to sleep again.

6:00
I open my eyes to see James' nose touching mine, staring right at me and hardly breathing. He whispers:
"George is awake."
"Oh. Do you think George can go back to sleep for a little longer?"
"Do you think Hayden is awake?"
"I'm sure that if Hayden were awake we would all know. Let's sleep a little more, you've got a big day."

6:15
Something hits my head. I sit up and see that it is a paperback copy of Curious George Wins a Medal.
"Can you read this to George?"
"Did you get out of bed?"
"Nope."
"You just had this with you?"
"Yup."
He must have been keeping it in his shirt.
"It's still a little dark out to read a book. Let's try to sleep a little longer."

6:30
James is reciting the book to himself in a whisper at the end of the bed.

6:45
"Daddy, I think I heard Hayden. I think she is up. Wanna get up?"
"Do you need to go potty?"
"Nope."
"I don't think Hayden is up. We'll get up at 7, okay? But can you try to rest for me? You're going to be very tired today."

6:47
"I think it's 7."